How Appealing



Friday, April 17, 2009

“Released Memos Could Lead to More Disclosures”: Saturday’s edition of The New York Times will contain an article that begins, “Even as President Obama urges the country to turn the page, his decision to reveal exhaustive details about interrogation methods used by the Central Intelligence Agency will likely lead to a flood of new disclosures about secret Bush administration operations against Al Qaeda, according to current and former government officials.”

The Associated Press reports that “CIA objections slowed torture memos release.”

And online at Slate, Dahlia Lithwick has a jurisprudence essay entitled “Over It: America’s quick recovery from its torture program suggests it wasn’t a torture program in the first place.”

Posted at 9:18 PM by Howard Bashman



“Court Rules for IRS in Dispute with Mayer Brown”: At “The BLT: The Blog of Legal Times,” Mike Scarcella has a post that begins, “Mayer Brown is not entitled to certain Internal Revenue Service documents under the Freedom of Information Act because disclosing the information could allow tax cheats to one-up investigators, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit ruled today.”

You can access today’s ruling of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit at this link.

Posted at 1:42 PM by Howard Bashman



“GOP Displays Intramural Feud on Judges”: At the “Legal Beat” blog of CQ Politics, Seth Stern has a post that begins, “Former Sen. Rick Santorum of Pennsylvania told a Republican lawyers group Friday their party should take the filibuster off the table as an option against President Obama’s judicial nominations.”

Posted at 11:25 AM by Howard Bashman



“White House Release of Interrogation Memos May Turn Up Heat on 9th Circuit Judge”: law.com has this report.

The New York Times reports today that “Interrogation Memos Detail Harsh Tactics by the C.I.A.

The Washington Post reports today that “New Interrogation Details Emerge; As It Releases Justice Dept. Memos, Administration Reassures CIA Questioners.”

The Los Angeles Times reports that “Memos reveal harsh CIA interrogation methods; Obama releases Justice Department documents that guided the CIA on how to use waterboarding and other tactics with terror suspects; Intelligence officials won’t be prosecuted over the interrogations.”

The Chicago Tribune reports that “Obama says no prosecutions as Bush-era memos on terror tactics released.”

The Wall Street Journal reports that “CIA Memos Released; Immunity for Harsh Tactics.” In addition, Michael Hayden and Michael B. Mukasey have an op-ed entitled “The President Ties His Own Hands on Terror; The point of interrogation is intelligence, not confession.”

USA Today contains an article headlined “Obama: CIA questioners won’t face charges; Released Justice memos shed light on harsh interrogation techniques.”

The Washington Times reports that “Obama releases memos detailing interrogations; CIA personnel won’t face prosecution.”

Margaret Talev and Marisa Taylor of McClatchy Newspapers have an article headlined “Bush-era interrogations: From waterboarding to forced nudity.”

Warren Richey of The Christian Science Monitor reports that “Terror memos authorized harsh interrogation techniques; Obama releases four secret memos detailing detainee treatment under Bush; Human rights groups slam his promise not to prosecute intelligence officials.”

The Associated Press reports that “Obama won’t charge CIA officers for rough tactics.”

And Bloomberg News reports that “Obama Says U.S. Terror Memos Expose ‘Dark and Painful Chapter.’

Yesterday, the ACLU issued a news release entitled “Justice Department Releases Bush Administration Torture Memos; Bradbury And Bybee Memos Are Released In Response To Long-Running ACLU Lawsuits.” The organization has posted the newly released memos online here, here, here, and here.

Posted at 9:22 AM by Howard Bashman



“Teen sues S.C. on stimulus standoff; Chapin High senior takes on Sanford”: The State newspaper of Columbia, South Carolina today contains an article that begins, “A Chapin High School senior has filed a lawsuit asking the S.C. Supreme Court to decide who — Gov. Mark Sanford or the Legislature — controls $700 million in disputed federal stimulus money. In an indication it could act swiftly, the court ordered S.C. Attorney General Henry McMaster to respond to the lawsuit by Monday. Casey Edwards, the 18-year-old who filed the lawsuit Thursday, said S.C. students and schools are suffering from budget cuts and would benefit from the money.”

Posted at 8:30 AM by Howard Bashman



“Board rejects Demjanjuk bid, court wants more info”: The Associated Press has a report that begins, “A U.S. appeals court wants to see details of a medical report indicating that John Demjanjuk, who is wanted in Germany to face accusations he served as a Nazi death camp guard, is healthy enough to make that trip from Ohio safely.”

The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit issued this briefing order yesterday.

Posted at 8:23 AM by Howard Bashman



“Judge signs off on San Quentin improvements”: Today in The San Francisco Chronicle, Bob Egelko has an article that begins, “A federal judge has ended nearly three decades of supervision over conditions on Death Row at San Quentin State Prison after authorities made court-ordered improvements ranging from giving inmates more legal help and exercise time to getting rid of rodents and bird droppings.”

Posted at 8:20 AM by Howard Bashman



“Thomas More Society Petitions U.S. Supreme Court to Allow ‘Choose Life’ Illinois License Plates; Petition says U.S. Seventh Circuit decision violates Illinois Citizens’ free speech rights”: The Thomas More Society issued this news release yesterday.

You can access my earlier coverage from yesterday, which included a link to the cert. petition, by clicking here.

Posted at 8:11 AM by Howard Bashman